Manual for journalists for investigating and reporting on corruption

Bearing in mind the great role media play in the fight against corruption and in increasing the transparency and accountability of the public institutions, the Center for Civil Communications hopes that, through highlighting the existing forms of corruption and promoting investigative techniques, will contribute to increasing the interest of journalists and media for investigating corruption. For that purpose, the Center, in December 2007, published a manual for journalists for investigating and reporting on corruption, which points to the consequences of corruption and the role of the media in its suppression.
13/11/20082

Moreover, the manual presents the forms and patterns of corruption in the most vulnerable areas, the techniques of investigative reporting, as well as ways of finding sources and interviewing. It contains analysis of corruption in the public procurement area, state companies and institutions, the public administration, illegal construction and town planning, education, and health. It also addresses the process and problems entailed in journalistic investigation, advice for finding and interviewing sources, as well as naming and citing sources during reporting on corruption.

By applying investigative journalism in detecting corruption, the media will inform the public about the corruption in a comprehensive and objective way, thus increasing the pressure on the authorized institutions in terms of implementing measures for preventing and sanctioning the agents of corruption.

The Center for Civil Communications has been working actively for three years now on narrowing the room for corruption in Macedonia. The manual was a product of the project for improving journalists’ abilities for investigating and reporting on corruption in collaboration with the US Agency for International Development.